News Blog

Over the past 20 years, more than 85 amputees around the world have received a hand or bilateral hand transplant – including two adults and one child here at Penn Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). For a great majority, this rare gift has been transformative.

A new initiative at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania called SOAR (supporting older adults at risk) is working to reverse that trend, getting patients home sooner and keeping them there longer.

While it can be a joyous time of year, for many people the holidays bring a whirlwind of demands that can add another layer of stress to already busy lives. Cooking special meals, decorating, and shopping for gifts are just a few of the rituals that mark the holiday season in many homes across America.

SMA is the leading genetic cause of death for infants and the second most common autosomal recessive disease—a disease inherited through two mutated genes—occurring in about 1 in 10,000 people. But now, there’s hope in a new treatment option.

Although scientists and health professionals have the best intentions when trying to promote health research, they’re still people.